Paternal Bonds Shattered

Disclaimer: Do I need to say it? I don't own iCarly

A/N:


Chapter 44 (Worth It)

Vanessa smiled and waved her fingers, speaking in a singsong tone. "Hi there little Rachel. Hello Derek." Derek huffed and slumped his shoulders. He knew what was coming. He turned around as Rachel ran and hugged Vanessa. He folded his arms over and smiled as Vanessa turned her pleasant gaze on him.

"Am I in trouble?"

"By me? No…but when her daddy finds out you've been kissing his little girl…" She smirked and Derek's eyes widened as his heart began to race. Jonah was one of the best weapons specialists around nowadays, he made a living out of making guns. A lot of his guns he sent to the military and they paid a hefty sum for his work. Rachel laughed once and pointed playfully at Vanessa.

"Now Aunt Vanessa, you know Daddy wouldn't do anything to Derek! He's happy with him!"

"Yeah, I know. I just like messing with your boyfriend. So he actually is your boyfriend now?" She smirked as both Derek and Rachel blushed. Raising an eyebrow, she watched the two get in the backseat of her car. "Uh huh, that's what I thought." Once in the car, they saw Vanessa's husband, Kent seated in the front passenger side.

"Hi Uncle Kent!" Kent looked back at Rachel and smiled, happy to see niece. He moved his eyes over to Derek and lifted his eyebrows. Each of Rachel's uncles were deathly protective of her, and rightfully so. He was fortunate that they all liked him. Rachel looked at Derek, who was staring blankly at the seat in front of him. "Derek, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good, just know that you have a big family." Rachel laughed and hugged him from the side, kissing his cheek. When she did this, she heard two children in the backseat gagging. She looked back and saw her cousins, five year old Jackson and three year old Megan.

"Kissing is gross!" Jackson shouted out. Vanessa laughed as she entered the driver's seat and looked back at her children.

"It's a natural thing, kids. Give it about ten years and you won't be saying that."

"Never!" Kent chuckled as he turned back around and leaned back in his chair. Vanessa started up the car and started up. At twenty nine years of age, Victoria was the only one of Rachel's aunts that wasn't married yet, but she did have a boyfriend. Like the other men involved with the sisters, he too learned about the past. It was like a requirement, the men had to accept the demons, the skeletons in the family's closet. If not, they weren't good enough. Some men were scared off, because they didn't want to think they might have to play 'counselor' with their girlfriends. This wasn't the case, but they had been vain. It hurt the girls a lot, and only Kent really understood what they had gone through, as he had been with Vanessa before Valerie was ever brought home. The men that married Veronica and Vixen, along with the man who was with Victoria, he had sat them down individually and had a long discussion with them. They all understood and had become protective of Rachel and Valerie.

"So Rachel, did you hear the news?" Rachel looked to Kent and shook her head. "Victoria said Kevin proposed to her this morning." Rachel gasped and nearly jumped up in her seat.

"That's great! Oh my god, I'm so happy for her! He's not bothered at all by what happened in the past?"

"No, thankfully enough. She's gone through enough men scared off by that whole drama…" Rachel nodded and Derek raised his eyebrow. Victoria had been the one to suffer most. Where Kent accepted Vanessa right off the bat, never having been bothered at all by the demons lurking around her family, and Vixen had been engaged to one guy before she told him about what her family had gone through, and he broke up with her, it was Victoria that suffered the most. She'd dated many guys who were warded off by what her family went through, each of them being concerned that she might have 'nightmares' and other stuff that they just didn't want to deal with.

"Well he's a good person. I'll be glad to call him Uncle Kevin one day!" Vanessa looked into the rearview mirror and smiled at Rachel.

"You do already, dear."

"Because I saw he was a good person!" She knew she had it much worse than any of her aunts, because they suffered second hand while she suffered first hand. So she had been afraid that any guy that came across her would run away when she told them what she had gone through as a child. Hell, she hadn't even told Hank and Lilly what happened to her until they were all thirteen or fourteen, she was so scared of how they'd react. They had to tell her several times that they didn't think any less of her, that they were her best friends and they'd always be there for her. It was much like Cara and Johnny had been with Angie, which made her feel really good about her friends, considering Angie told them right off the bat what she had gone through. It meant a great deal that the people they cared about accepted them. Derek was the only one that never told anybody about the past, he just wasn't one to talk. Rachel looked at him and saw him looking out the window. "Do you think you'll ever tell Zeke and Todd about your past?" He blinked and looked over at her, it seemed absurd that she'd even suggest that. "I mean they are your best friends, but you don't treat them like that."

"Why would I tell them about my childhood?"

"Have they ever asked? I mean, I'm sure they know what your mother went through…it made the national headlines."

"Yeah they know, and yes, they've asked."

"You never told them?" He shrugged and placed his hands behind his head. Looking into the rearview mirror, he saw Megan and Jackson playing with toy dinosaurs. He never had that luxury when he was younger. It drove him crazy. "Don't you wish you had someone to talk to about it all? I mean hell, you don't talk about it much with even me…It's not healthy to keep it all bottled up inside, that's what Uncle Tyler says." Tyler was the one who married Veronica, he was a 34 year old guidance counselor. Despite that fact, he never had to give his wife any counseling, she kept very good control over her emotions. She had to, she couldn't let her emotions get the better of her when she was still an up and coming model. She had to look her best!

"I do perfectly fine." His best friends did know he had troubles, and sometimes they would try to goad it out of him. They wanted to be a friend to him. Sure, most guys don't talk about that sort of thing, never one to get emotional, but it never hurt to have friends who you knew you could trust.

"You ever think they think you don't trust them? Angie told her best friends right off the bat, I told Hank and Lilly…when I did, they wondered why I didn't tell them sooner. You've known Zeke and Todd for how long?"

"Eh, give or take a few years…" He met them when he was about six, and back then things were still hard on him. When his brother's remains had been found, it made things even worse on him. It didn't help when Zeke and Todd started asking about that. Thinking to himself, maybe Rachel was right. Maybe he should tell them. It was just the thought of that scared the crap out of him. "Maybe…maybe they won't disappear. Who knows." Rachel placed her hand on Derek's and smiled softly at him. She knew he had always hardened himself, saying that he had to be tough, but sometimes that was more of a problem for anyone than it was a good thing.

"If you do decide to, I'll be right there. Okay? You know, being honest with your best friends just makes your friendship a bit stronger. Believe me, when I told Hank and Lilly, they were so supportive of me and the bond we had just grew more solid, we're at the point where it's like nothing can destroy our friendship." Vanessa and Kent looked at each other and smiled for the two, they were proud of Rachel. She had grown so strong over the years. "When will you see them again?"

"Well…They're actually going to be at the execution tonight."

"Really?" That was a surprise she didn't expect. Derek chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, Zeke's dad is the executioner and Todd's pop is the minister."

"Wow." So they were probably a bit more involved than anyone thought. Then again, the fact that their dads were in that position didn't mean they knew anything. Although, if they were going to be there, and they'd see the whole family, they would definitely suspect things. "Well, will you tell them then?"

"I…" He sighed and closed his eyes. She was right, they deserved to know. If they were going to be his best friends, then he needed to be honest with them. They'd already acknowledged that it wasn't their business to know if he didn't want to tell them, but he knew it hurt them to think that he couldn't trust them. "I guess I will. They'll see us all and probably wonder what's going on." Rachel smiled and squeezed his hand gently. She admired his courage and hoped he would go through with this. Not wanting to talk about it anymore for now, he looked back to the two kids, then to Vanessa and Kent. "So, who's going to watch Megan and Jackson?" Vanessa hummed and looked in the mirror for a second.

"Victoria is watching all the younger kids. Since Kevin proposed to her, they don't want to go to the execution. So, they get to watch all the kids!" Rachel's eyes widened and she cupped her hand over her mouth.

"That's a lot of kids!" Serenity, Kyle, Megan, Jackson, and even Veronica had two children. One was four year old April and two year old Max. Vanessa and Kent's one year old son was probably already with Victoria. "I guess Aunt Victoria's already watching over Randy?"

"Yeah, she picked him up, but Megan and Jackson insisted they come see you and Derek." The two kids looked up at the mention of their names and grinned happily as Rachel looked back at them.

"We love you cousin Rachel!"

"Aww, I love you too!" At least Vixen and her husband, Vaughn, didn't have a lot of kids. Yet. She was seven months pregnant with a son. They were going to name him Vinson, and keep true to the family tradition of naming all their children with the letter V. Rachel turned around, thinking about her family and beaming with pride, she couldn't help but to love the fact that she had such an extensive family. "Granddad Bryant was really happy to have lived so long and to have seen mom's family grow like it did." He loved all the kids like they were his own great, great grandchildren. He had been extremely proud to even have lived long enough to see Kyle's birth. It was a very sad day when he passed on, but he always said he didn't want anyone to cry at his funeral, for he lived a long and happy life. "I miss granddad…"

Derek squeezed her hand and she placed her head on his shoulder. If he were still alive today, he'd be one hundred and seventeen years old. Sadly, he passed away at the age of one hundred and fifteen. He didn't want to live to see Hector's execution anyway, he didn't care much about that man. He just wanted to live to see his family happy. So, he died a perfectly content man. "He got his wish, though, Rachel." She smiled a tearful smile and nodded as she closed her eyes. "He wanted to see his great grandson happy, his great, great grandchildren happy, and are you happy?"

"Yes, very happy."

"Then you know he's happy." They were amazed that even Jonah's grandfather, Ryan, was still alive. He was very sickly nowadays, though. Ninety-six was a hard age to live to. He wanted to outlive even George, but the old timer put the bar so high, he didn't think he'd make it. He did say he'd be just happy enough to make it to one hundred. For him, it wasn't so much age that mattered, as the quality of his life. He did say that despite those ten years of hell, the rest of his life had been fantastic.

"Are you happy, Derek? I mean, are you really, truly happy?" Derek didn't have to think much on that question. After all, what was there to frown about? His life as it was now was pretty good. He didn't have that many sleepless nights anymore, even though he would sometimes wake up in a sweat, but that was a rarity. He smiled and placed his hand around Rachel's waist.

"Yes, very happy." The kids in the back moaned and Megan piped up.

"Are you two going to kiss again?" Rachel blushed and Derek laughed, he couldn't help but to appreciate the innocence and wonder of children. He looked back at them and smiled as Megan held up her toy dinosaurs, two triceratops. "This is Rachel, and this is you…" She started pushing the two toys together at the faces and made kissing noises. Rachel's blush deepened while Derek closed his eyes and laughed a bit harder. Vanessa and Kent had to stop themselves from cracking up, but it was difficult to do so. Megan looked up innocently and smiled. "Am I going to have another cousin soon?" Vanessa coughed and nearly slammed on the brakes, but resisted the urge. Derek and Rachel paled and their eyes grew wide.

"Uh, no…not by us. Maybe Aunt Vixen."

"Oh, okay." Vanessa breathed out and Kent covered his mouth, snickering uncontrollably. She slowly glared at him, but it didn't stop him from laughing.

"I'm sorry honey! It's just, I can't stop laughing…oh god that's hilarious!" Rachel growled and Derek lifted his eyebrows, trying to recover from what just happened. It was shocking that a three year old girl would even suggest something like that, but she didn't know any better. Derek rubbed her head and smiled at her.

"I can assure you, it will be a long time before you have any cousins coming from Rachel." Though he certainly can't say he never thought about sexual things, what sane person didn't? He just preferred not to think lustfully of Rachel, his eyes were only filled with love for her. "Megan, you probably won't understand till you're older, but you have a very beautiful cousin. I love her with all my heart, and I'd never, ever take advantage of her feelings." This made the occupants of the car smile, it comforted everyone to know where Derek stood on matters. Though, true, Megan and Jackson didn't get it, but it wasn't important for them to understand. For when he said this, he was looking into Rachel's eyes, as though telling her exactly how he felt. It was important that she understand it, that Vanessa and Kent understood as well. "I will never do anything to hurt you, Rachel. Never." The next person to speak was Vanessa, eyeing Derek closely.

"Glad you two love each other so much, you've been through a lot, you deserve some happiness in your lives. I'm proud of you two." They smiled at her as she turned into Victoria's driveway. Everybody else was already there. "You deserve each other, I think. Just keep this in mind, Valerie was pregnant at sixteen. We'd really rather not have the same thing happen to Rachel." Derek paled as he met Vanessa's eyes through the rearview mirror. They were so challenging, daring, almost promising some extreme pain if Rachel ever ended up a pregnant teenager. "We're clear on that, right?"

"I would never…" Rachel eyed him with a smirk and he yelped, now he was starting to feel the pressure. "I mean, when the time is right, preferably on the honeymoon, yeah…but before then, I would never do that to her, and I…" Kent looked back and mouthed for him to just shut up and run from the car as fast as he could before the girls trapped him in a place he didn't want to be. He pulled at his collar and chuckled nervously, opening the door slowly. "Everyone's waiting, so let's just get out now, okay?" Now he was nervous, if that came from Rachel's favorite aunt, imagine what would come from her father. His eyes met Jonah's as he got out of the car. This was the man who saved Valerie's entire family, went into the eye of the storm, survived Jeremy's rocket launcher, and developed mass weapons. He knew in his heart he'd never hurt Rachel, but if he ever did fuck up royally, then damn was he screwed! Not only that, but her aunt Olivia was one tough as nails pilot in the Air Force. He knew this family was tough, but he didn't mind, because her love was worth the strictest family in the world, if needed.


Little kids, so cute XD. So I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.